The Reaping

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Cryptobiosis

This is probably one of the realest feeling audios out there, along with The Gathering. To clarify, it presents life in the most unglamourised way possible. It has a very somber atmosphere, with Peri finding out about a family friend's death and rushing back to visit their funeral. Like The Gathering, it really explores the life without/after the Doctor. It strips back the fairy-tale like adventures of Doctor Who and takes us back to the real world.

I'm gonna say, I don't think this story would be nearly as effective without Nicola Bryant's FANTASTIC performance. Not only is she really having to pull her weight alongside actual American actors (a testament to how good her American accent is when it blends into the story seamlessly), she's putting in one of the best performances I've seen a companion actor do as Peri is put through the wringer in this story.

While the Doctor is a bit more of a side character here, that doesn't stop Colin Baker from putting in a similarly great performance. The scene where he comforts Peri at the end stood out to me specifically. As for the Cybermen in this story, I think they're very unique here. They're cunning and crafty in a way that regular Cybermen usually aren't and it's fun to listen to.

I think the only thing I disliked in this story was how abrupt and ridiculous Peri's mum's death was. I don't mind her death as a plot point, but blowing up because of a Cyberman gadget the Doctor left behind is a bit stupid. Otherwise, it's a fantastic audio and a really great story for Peri as a character in particular.

Next Story: Recorded Time

There are so many ideas in this one, if they were to have run with and truly exploited one or two of them I think we could have had a classic. It’s looking over the shoulder of Aliens of London and wondering how that same time jump would impact Peri’s family - which is not a bad idea in and of itself, but then it tries to be a big scary, twisted dark story… killing Peri’s mum at the end was completely needless - it was entirely tacked on, added nothing to the plot and we’d only just be introduced to the character.

I loved the Cyberman’s plot and how it was dealt with. The use of trickery and the dead from the graveyard was very smart. I really didn’t like the Cyberman dialogue which essentially amounted to the age old “you see Doctor, emotions can be used against you, they make you weak.” Which has to be amongst the most boring sci-fi tropes.

I’m making it sound worse than it is. Meeting Peri’s family, the 1980s setting and some of the more unique story ideas made this one a 6/10. But it had the potential to be so much more.